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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327937">fidelity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamtiwasanarchitect/pseuds/dreamtiwasanarchitect'>dreamtiwasanarchitect</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aftercare, Anal Sex, Bathing/Washing, Blindfolds, Bondage, Cock Warming, Coming Untouched, Hand Feeding, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, M/M, Multiple Orgasms, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overstimulation, Pre-Canon, Rimming, Subspace, Switching, That Time In Malta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:47:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,928</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamtiwasanarchitect/pseuds/dreamtiwasanarchitect</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“How long?” his love asked him. </p><p>“We have a year before we rendezvous in San Francisco,” Joe said.</p><p>Nicky laughed. “You want to be entirely at my mercy for that long?” </p><p>“I am always at your mercy, Nico,” he said seriously.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>369</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fidelity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for this kinkmeme prompt:</p><p>"can we all consider the look he gives Joe when Joe asks him what time in Malta?? and Joe knows which time he's referring to just from that look? this is all."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nicky links his wrist cuffs together, and Joe has a feeling this time in Malta will go down in history as one of their top five fucks. </p><p>He picks up the blindfold and starts to walk behind Joe, who blurts, “Wait, Nicky—kiss me first?” </p><p>Nicky looks at him and smiles, beatific, the perfect final image for Joe to call to mind when he can no longer see his love’s face.</p><p>They share a deep, unhurried kiss, and then Nicky secures the blindfold over his eyes. It’s sturdy but soft with perfect coverage. </p><p>“Everything is comfortable?” </p><p>“Mmhm.”</p><p>“Comfortable enough for a few days?” </p><p>The reminder that he’s going to be like this for an indeterminate period of time goes right to Joe’s cock. </p><p>“Well, we’re gonna find out,” he grins. </p><p>Nicky nips at his neck. </p><p>———</p><p>They’d started planning this trip near the end of their long stint in the Afghan countryside. It had been a prolonged fight in the kind of conditions that made the lot of them so cranky, there was no question the four of them would fuck off to separate corners of the world for a bit when all was said and done.</p><p>On the train, on the ferry, talking in undertones, they wove their mutual fantasy. </p><p>“How long?” his love asked him. </p><p>“We have a year before we rendezvous in San Francisco,” Joe said.</p><p>Nicky laughed. “You want to be entirely at my mercy for that long?” </p><p>“I am always at your mercy, Nico,” he said seriously.</p><p>Nicky sucked in a breath. </p><p>Joe smiled at him. “You decide when the game’s over. Five hours, five days, five weeks, five months—however you deem it. That’s the whole point.”</p><p>Nicky nodded, considering. </p><p>———</p><p>Upon arrival, they went about the business of re-opening their house—removing furniture covers and wiping down surfaces. Once the kitchen was clean enough, Nicky threw together a meal while Joe finished stomping out cobwebs.</p><p>They ate quickly, the anticipation of things to come hanging over them. When Nicky stood and began collecting the dishes, Joe made to help.</p><p>“I’ll clean up,” Nicky told him. “You go shower.”</p><p>Joe didn’t need telling twice.  </p><p>Februaries in Malta were mild, but the nights got a bit chilly, so he started a fire in their bedroom before stripping down and heading to the small bathroom across the hall. Their house still didn’t have central heating or cooling, but they’d had the shower installed in the early 60s.</p><p>Joe fought the urge to take the world’s fastest shower and get back to Nicky as soon as possible. He thought it was likely that this would be his last cleaning outside of washcloth wipe-downs for a couple days. </p><p>Not wanting to get too worked up before they’d even started, he hastily abandoned that line of thinking. </p><p>Back in their bedroom, Joe didn’t bother getting dressed. He sat on the bed and waited for Nicky.</p><p>———</p><p>Now Joe’s bracketed by long legs, kneeling before Nicky at the armchair in the corner of the room.</p><p>Nicky touches his bottom lip and Joe sucks on his fingers.</p><p>“I have a game for you,” Nicky said. “You have five minutes to finish with me your mouth. If you can do it, I’ll let you come tonight.”</p><p>Joe lets the fingers slip from his mouth. “And if I can’t?”</p><p>He can hear the smile in Nicky’s voice. “Then you won’t come.”</p><p>Blindly, Joe nuzzles into Nicky’s lap until he finds his cock. He gives it a kiss and a few teasing licks, then swallows Nicky to the root. </p><p>Joe’s sure he’s gotten Nicky off in less time before, but Nicky wasn’t making a point to run out the clock then. </p><p>He hums around Nicky’s cock and relaxes his throat. His bound hands move to fondle Nicky’s balls, but that earns him a pinch to his nipple.</p><p>“No hands,” Nicky tells him. The good news is that he already sounds relatively close. If Joe could tempt him into fucking his throat, this would be over in less than a minute, but he knows he’ll have to work harder than that.</p><p>So he moves his hands back to his lap and sets to work bobbing on Nicky’s cock. When he starts to choke himself with it, Nicky’s hips rise up to meet him and Joe knows it’s game over. </p><p>He swallows Nicky’s load. “Well?”</p><p>Nicky pets his head. “Four minutes, thirteen seconds. Nicely done.”</p><p>Joe preens.</p><p>“Since you were well under time, I will let you pick—how do you want to come?”</p><p>That’s unexpected, though certainly not unwelcome. Still, Joe was not prepared for options. </p><p>“Did you have something planned?”</p><p>“I did,” Nicky says, sounding amused. “But if you want that, you have to choose it before I tell you what it is.” </p><p>And isn’t that what this is all about? “I want that.”</p><p>A huff of laughter, then Nicky kisses Joe’s forehead. He un-links his cuffs, then moves Joe’s hands behind his back before clasping them back together. His mind spins, desperate for clues. </p><p>Nicky leans back in the chair and slots a leg in between Joe’s kneeling thighs. “There you are, then.”</p><p>It takes a beat to sink in, then—“Oh, fuck, Nicky.”</p><p>“And you have five minutes. Starting now.”</p><p>Joe rises up from his heels and rubs against Nicky’s shin. Like a dog. Fuck.</p><p>It’s not that it feels particularly good compared to the other options—Nicky’s hand, Nicky’s mouth, Nicky’s ass—but thinking about how he must look right now is, well. It’s doing things to him.</p><p>Nicky seems to agree. “Oh my love. Look at you, humping my leg, so desperate. You are magnificent.”</p><p>“Nicky, Nicky,” he pants as he starts to come.</p><p>Nicky strokes his hair as he finishes. “So good, Joe.”</p><p>He drops back to his heels and rubs his head on Nicky’s thigh. “Anything for you.”</p><p>Nicky kisses his forehead again before standing. “Sit in the chair,” he tells him. “I will be right back.”</p><p>It’s a little awkward, since he can’t see or use his hands, but by the time he manages, he can hear Nicky coming back into the room.</p><p>He smiles as he feels a warm cloth wiping the come from his stomach.</p><p>“And what are you smirking about?” Nicky asks, possibly going for demanding but just sounding fond.</p><p>“Oh, nothing,” Joe tells him blithely. </p><p>———</p><p>That night they sleep facing each other, Joe’s bound hands between them. Their legs are tangled and Nicky has an arm thrown over him. </p><p>It’s a little strange to wake up to the pitch black of his blindfold. Nicky must sense his disorientation, because his hand strokes Joe’s side. </p><p>“Good morning, my love.” </p><p>He rolls on to his back and stretches his arms over his head and smiles. “Morning, my heart.”</p><p>“Did you sleep well? Your hands didn’t bother you?”</p><p>“I slept great.” He arches his back a little. </p><p>Nicky pats his stomach. “Good. I need you well-rested.”</p><p>He feels Nicky leave the bed and listens as he moves around the room. When he comes back, Joe feels hands on his ankles and cloth pulling over his feet. </p><p>“And here I imagined you keeping me naked,” he says, lifting his hips as Nicky pulls up the sweats.</p><p>Nicky flicks his chest. “I can’t have you getting cold.” </p><p>He un-links the wrist cuffs to pull one of his own hoodies on to Joe. After he reattaches the cuffs, he pulls Joe up to stand. </p><p>The house is small, and they’ve owned it for several centuries, so Joe could probably make his way to kitchen without assistance. But he’s never been one to complain about Nicky’s hands on him. Nicky leads him through the house with so much care that it tugs on his chest.</p><p>In the kitchen, Nicky stops and puts his hands on Joe’s shoulders. “Kneel down.”</p><p>He does, expecting his knees to meet tile, but instead feels something cushioned. He almost asks where it came from, then decides he doesn’t care to know. </p><p>The sounds of Nicky’s cooking fill the kitchen. Joe predicts crepes.</p><p>He starts feeling the burn in his calves and thighs. “Nicky?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Can I sit with my legs crossed?” </p><p>Nicky must have moved to stand next to him when he called out—he feels a hand tangle in his curls. “Of course, my heart.” </p><p>Joe moves to rearrange himself, Nicky’s hands ensuring his stays upright.</p><p>“Is that better?”</p><p>“Mmhm.” </p><p>Nicky kisses the top of his head and goes back to cooking. He hears the clinking of plates and silverware, then a chair next to Joe pulls out from the table. </p><p>A fork scrapes, and the next second there’s crepe pressing against his lips. He’d feel smug, but suddenly he’s too turned on.</p><p>Nicky is too practical to attempt feeding him crepe without a fork, but he gives Joe pieces of fruit by hand. Joe makes a point to suck his fingers clean.</p><p>“The crepes are excellent, Nicky,” he says between bites.</p><p>“Glad you approve.” Nicky scratches the nape of his neck and feeds him another blueberry.</p><p>“Coffee?” he says hopefully. He can smell it, so he knows Nicky’s made it.</p><p>“You may have water or orange juice,” Nicky tells him. </p><p>He sighs and accepts some of both. </p><p>After what he estimates is about three crepes, he pulls away when the fork comes back to him. “I’m good.”</p><p>“One last bite,” Nicky insists. Joe earns a peck on the lips for his obedience. </p><p>He leans against the chair while Nicky cleans up, perking up at the sound of the sink shutting off. </p><p>Nicky takes his hands from his lap and pulls him up. Before he can steer him to whatever’s planned next, Joe leans in and kisses him. Unfortunately, he misses Nicky’s mouth and ends up frenching his nose. </p><p>“Dammit.” </p><p>Nicky just laughs and leads him out of the kitchen. </p><p>———</p><p>They end up in the living room, where Joe is back on his knees, Nicky’s cock in his mouth. “I don’t want you to suck,” Nicky had told him. “Just hold me in your mouth.”</p><p>There’s still drool all over his chin. If he listens closely, he can hear the pages of Nicky’s book turn, but eventually he lets himself drift. Time feels irrelevant.</p><p>Eventually, some indeterminable time later, Nicky nudges him away, then guides Joe to join him on the couch, tucked under his arm. Joe burrows his head into Nicky’s chest. </p><p>“Do you know what I’m reading, Joe?”</p><p>“Ah.” Joe’s mind is completely blank. He can’t think of a single book, much less guess at what Nicky’s reading. “Can I have a hint?”</p><p>Nicky kisses his temple. “One of our favorites.”</p><p>Joe pushes himself out of the stupor of lust and tries to think. </p><p>“<em>The City and the Pillar</em>?”</p><p>“Very good. Do you want to hear it?”</p><p>“Yes, please.”</p><p>“<em>We affect one another quite enough merely by existing,” </em>Nicky reads. <em>“Whenever the stars cross—or is it comets?—fragments pass briefly from one orbit to another. On rare occasions there is total collision, but most often the two simply continue without incident, neither losing more than a particle to the other, in passing</em>.”</p><p>Joe dozes off to the sound of Nicky’s voice. </p><p>———</p><p>He wakes up to darkness and audits his surroundings. He’s on the couch, stretched out underneath a blanket. He feels around for Nicky with his bound hands. </p><p>Met with nothing, he sits up. “Nicky?”</p><p>There are hurried footsteps, then touch. “I’m here, Yusuf.”</p><p>Joe sighs into his love’s palm. </p><p>“Are you hungry?” Nicky asks.</p><p>“Should I be?”</p><p>Nicky huffs a laugh. “Not necessarily. We had a late breakfast, since you slept most of the morning away.”</p><p>“The only thing I hunger for is you,” Joe professes.</p><p>“Then I suppose I must satisfy your craving,” Nicky tells him. </p><p>Back in the bedroom, Nicky strips off his hoodie before tying each of Joe’s cuffs to a bedpost, leaving him splayed on his back. </p><p>Nicky straddles his thighs, and Joe hears a squelch of lube. He’s wondering if he should point out that his love seems to have confused the order of operations when Nicky lets out a low groan.</p><p>“Mm, it’s been too long since I had your fingers in me, my heart.” </p><p>Joe suddenly hates his blindfold. The wet, messy sound of Nicky fucking himself on his own fingers, paired with his mounting moans, is driving him mad. </p><p>“Will you last long enough for me to come on your cock?” Nicky breathes.</p><p>“Yes, yes, Nicky, fuck, please.”</p><p>“Hm. If you are overestimating yourself, I will have to design a fitting penance.”</p><p>“I’ll last, I promise, I promise.”</p><p>Nicky tugs off Joe’s sweats, coats his cock in lube, and promptly sinks on to it.</p><p>One of Nicky’s hands plants on his chest. Joe assumes he’s using the other to touch himself, given the animal noises he’s making as he lifts up and down on Joe’s cock. </p><p>Admittedly, Joe may be giving him a run for his money. He sounds possessed. He might scream himself hoarse if this lasts much longer.</p><p>Thankfully, Nicky comes all over his chest and chin in what feels like no time—though it’s possible he rode Joe for hours and his sense of time is just decimated—and Joe immediately lets go of his last shred of control. It almost feels like he comes for as long as they fucked.</p><p>He’s still panting when Nicky wipes him down and pulls his sweats back up. “Did I pass muster?”</p><p>“Always, Joe,” Nicky tells him without a hint of teasing. Joe swallows around a lump in his throat while Nicky unties him from the bed and gets the hoodie back on. </p><p>“I need to make our dinner, love. Do you want to come with me, or would you like to stay here?” He links Joe’s wrist cuffs back together.</p><p>“Uhh.” Joe has apparently lost the ability to make decisions. Which, he remembers, is sort of the point. “You pick.” </p><p>Nicky kisses him. “Why don’t you stay up here and rest? I can turn on the radio, if you like.”</p><p>Joe rolls on his side. “Mm. That sounds nice.”</p><p>“I will turn it on low, so you can call for me if you need. I will hurry.” </p><p>“Thank you, Nicky.” </p><p>Quiet music fills the room, and Nicky leaves after dropping another kiss on his forehead. </p><p>Joe waits, content. He doesn’t sleep, but he feels like he’s being rocked on a gentle wave. He can’t focus on the words, but the music is nice.</p><p>He starts a little when he hears something being placed on the nightstand.</p><p>“It is only me, my heart.” </p><p>“Nicky.” </p><p>“Yes?” Nicky rubs his shoulder.</p><p>Joe opens his mouth and lets it hang. “I guess I just wanted to say your name.” </p><p>Nicky brings Joe’s hands to his mouth and kisses the back of each knuckle. “Joe,” he says, and Joe feels the quirk of Nicky’s lips. </p><p>Nicky feeds him focaccia bread and caprese and sliced apple and bits of dark chocolate. Wine would be an excellent addition, but Nicky is insistent that he needs water instead.</p><p>When they finish eating, they snuggle under the covers and Nicky picks up reading where he left off.</p><p>Everything is fuzzy. Joe is falling back to sleep. </p><p>“Ready for bed?”</p><p>“Maybe. It’s night now?”</p><p>“Yes, love.”</p><p>“Then yes.” </p><p>The last thing he’s aware of is Nicky stroking his head. </p><p>———</p><p>The next morning—or whenever Joe wakes next—Nicky sits Joe on his lap and feeds him an omelet and flaky croissants. </p><p>After they finish, they spend a few minutes or hours making out. Then Nicky cuffs his wrists behind his back and maneuvers him to sit on the couch. </p><p>He holds his breath when he feels Nicky’s hands spreading his legs. Nicky starts dropping kisses inside his thighs and his toes curl. </p><p>Nicky could make a living with his fucking perfect mouth. He starts by working quick kisses up from the base of Joe’s cock. When he reaches the head, Nicky teases Joe with tiny kitten licks before sucking on the tip. </p><p>Joe’s hips thrust up at the first hint of suction, desperate for more.</p><p>Nicky smack a little love tap on his thigh. “Keep still, my heart. If you move again, I’ll stop.”</p><p>Joe would rather have his heart cut out, which is saying something considering he actually <em>has</em> had his heart cut out. “No, no, Nicky, please, keep going, fuck, please.”</p><p>“Be good for me and I will,” Nicky says, and he takes all of Joe in his mouth. </p><p>Joe swears and pants. With his hands trapped between his back and the couch, it’s impossible to get a grip on anything. He needs to fuck up into Nicky’s mouth. He’s so close.</p><p>“Nicky, please, I can come, yes?”</p><p>Nicky hums around his cock, and he does. </p><p>———</p><p>Joe spends the afternoon with his head in Nicky’s lap, Nicky running his hand up and down his back. He rouses Joe from a nap to insist on food, even though Joe feels like he just ate. He gives up any resistance when Nicky tells him he could stay on the couch. </p><p>Nicky gets him back in their bedroom and strips him out of his sweats and hoodie. He cuffs Joe's wrists to the posts at the footboard, bending him over the bed.</p><p>Joe whines high in his throat. “Are you going to fuck me?”</p><p>From behind him, Nicky says, “Only if you’re very good.” </p><p>“I will be, I’ll be so good, so good for you—”</p><p>“I know, love, I know, I was only teasing you,” Nicky cuts off his babbling as he spreads Joe’s cheeks.</p><p>Joe is anticipating fingers, but instead he gets tongue. </p><p>“Oh, fuck, yes,” he gasps. </p><p>Nicky rims him so thoroughly that two of his fingers slide in without any resistance. Nicky coats Joe’s hole in slick while purposefully avoiding the spot that has Joe seeing stars. </p><p>Nicky’s cock presses into him and he thinks his legs are going to give out. He makes up for the stingy fingering by nailing his prostate on the first thrust. </p><p>Joe starts moaning and doesn’t stop.</p><p>“Joe, Joe, you are so perfect like this,” Nicky hisses. “Will you come like this for me?”</p><p>His hips are too far from the bed to effectively rub against it. “Yes, yes, I’m going to be good for you, Nicky.”</p><p>“You are, Joe, better than I deserve, I love you—“ </p><p>Joe’s orgasm rips out of him. His mouth gapes open in a silent cry. </p><p>Nicky drags his fingers through the come on Joe’s stomach, then brings them to Joe’s mouth. Dazed, Joe sucks them clean. </p><p>After coming inside him, Nicky pets his ass for a few minutes before pulling out. “So good,” he mutters, “so good, my Yusuf.” </p><p>“Nico,” he sighs. </p><p>Nicky unties him and brings him to the bathroom. Joe sits on the closed toilet while Nicky runs a bath. </p><p>He helps Joe into the tub before sliding in behind him. “How are you feeling, my heart?” </p><p>Boneless, Joe thinks. Floating. Nicky is always the center of his universe, but now it’s like every other celestial body has been obliterated. There’s only Nicky. </p><p>“Joe?” Nicky prompts, lifting Joe’s wrist’s to clean under his arms. </p><p>“I feel…” he feels things he can’t verbalize. Things there are possibly no words for it any of the sixteen languages they share. So he turns his head, seeking out Nicky’s mouth. </p><p>Nicky’s hand comes to his jaw and Joe tries to put everything he can’t say into their kiss. </p><p>———</p><p>Nicky is feeding him waffles, so it must be breakfast. Nicky licks the stickiness from the berries, syrup, and cream from Joe’s lips. </p><p>Plates set aside, they lay next to each other, Nicky plying Joe with soft touches while he drifts. He keeps losing the trail of his thoughts. </p><p>“Joe.”</p><p>All he thinks is, Nicky.</p><p>“Joe. Are you with me, my love?”</p><p>He nods. </p><p>“Can you tell me how you’re feeling? Please, Joe?”</p><p>“Good,” he mumbles. </p><p>“Good enough to let me play with you a little more?” Nicky’s hand ghosts over his cock, which perks up with interest.</p><p>“Anything,” Joe sighs. </p><p>Nicky ties his wrists to the headboard again. “I will be right back,” he tells him.</p><p>Joe hardly feels the absence before Nicky is back on the bed, lifting one of Joe’s legs over his shoulder. </p><p>He fingers him open and Joe jumps a little at the slide of something hard and cool inside him.</p><p>“Cold?”</p><p>Joe nods. </p><p>“Sorry, my heart. Is it all right now?”</p><p>He nods again. </p><p>Nicky rubs his knee. Whatever is in his ass starts to pulse.</p><p>The mechanical whirring sound doubles, and he feels vibrations against his cock. </p><p>“How many times do you think you could come like this, love?”</p><p>Joe moans. He’s already trembling. Nicky keeps talking but it’s beyond Joe’s comprehension.</p><p>The answer to Nicky’s question, it turns out, is four. The last orgasm is completely dry and brings Joe to tears. </p><p>Once his shaking arms are freed, he drops them to the bed. He sniffles as a dry cloth dabs at the wetness on his cheeks. A wet one mops the come off him.</p><p>Nicky is still speaking. Joe fights to focus.</p><p>“—you did so well, you gave me everything, love, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen—“</p><p>“Nicky,” he mutters.</p><p>“Yes, love, tell me what you need?” </p><p>“Just you, only you.” </p><p>Nicky cups his face in both hands. He rests his forehead on Joe’s and gives him a slow, deep kiss. Joe whimpers into his mouth.</p><p>Nicky moves away slightly to urge Joe to crawl underneath the covers.</p><p>“Is it night again?” he asks blearily.</p><p>“No, Joe, just time for you to sleep a little more, yes? Just a nap.”</p><p>“I like naps.”</p><p>Nicky kisses the corner of his mouth. “I know you do.”</p><p>———</p><p>Joe opens his eyes and frowns at the sunlight poking through the curtains. Then he realizes with a jolt that he can see. He glances down—there’s no sign of the cuffs, either. </p><p>He panics a little. “Nicky?” he calls.</p><p>Nicky is next to him in a moment. Joe realizes he’d been sitting in the armchair. <em>The City and the Pillar</em> is still open on the seat, facedown to hold his place. </p><p>“You’ll ruin the spine,” he says, staring at it. It’s one of Nicky’s pet peeves, when people don’t mark their page properly.</p><p>“Shh, Joe, that doesn’t matter.” Nicky curls next to him and lays a palm on his cheek. Joe drinks in the sight of him and Nicky smiles back. </p><p>“What…it’s…” He squints at the window. “It’s afternoon?”</p><p>“Three forty-five.”</p><p>“And,” he pauses, licks his lips. “What day is it?”</p><p>Nicky’s face is serene, but Joe sees his eyes widen a little. “The twenty-fourth of February.”</p><p>“And we arrived on…”</p><p>“The twenty-first.”</p><p>Joe blinks. “Tired of me so soon?”</p><p>“No,” Nicky frowns. “Of course not. Never, in nearly nine-hundred years and not in nine-hundred more.”</p><p>Joe smiles.</p><p>“That,” Nicky says, “I missed that.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>One of Nicky’s fingers taps the corner of his eye. “The way this crinkles when you smile.”</p><p>“So sentimental,” Joe teases. </p><p>“I missed this too. Your wit,” Nicky adds when Joe looks confused. “Your voice. You went a little silent on me, my love.”</p><p>“I was overcome.”</p><p>“You were perfect. But I was starting to become afraid. That it was too much.”</p><p>“It was all that and more,” Joe said, “but it was perfect.” His closes the space between them to kiss Nicky. This time he doesn’t miss. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alternate title: True Love, the Greatest Kink of All.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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